The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus, more specifically to an improvement of a thermal transfer recording apparatus adapted for use in the recording output of, e.g., a computer, a word processor, and so on.
As an example of non-impact printing techniques, thermal transfer recording apparatuses have recently been developed and put to practical use which can record on ordinary paper. They feature compactness, low price, and low-noise performance.
In one such prior art apparatus starting to be widely used, the whole structure is divided into two parts, an upper unit as a first unit and a lower unit as a second unit, which adjoin each other on a path of a thermal transfer medium. The upper unit can be swung open to be separated from the lower unit as required. In the thermal transfer recording apparatus of this swingable upper unit type, the thermal transfer medium path can be exposed to facilitate the replacement of the thermal transfer medium or the removal of a piece of jammed material. Moreover, the thermal head and other devices arranged along the thermal transfer medium path can be maintained very easily. Thus, thermal transfer recording apparatuses of this type are expected to be widely used.
The conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus of the swingable upper unit type often makes recording errors. If the thermal transfer medium, for example, is replaced with a new one after swinging up the upper unit, the upper unit may possibly be swung down to close the apparatus with the newly set thermal transfer medium left slack. This slack or sag can cause the awkward situation of the beginning portion (for several lines) of information to not be satisfactorily transferred. In this case, ink on the thermal transfer medium is melted crumpling the medium at the start of recording, thereby causing recording errors.